


A Demon's Jealousy

by Alshoruzen



Series: Demon Verse [2]
Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Demons, Fantasy, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-27
Updated: 2017-12-01
Packaged: 2019-01-06 05:45:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12205071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alshoruzen/pseuds/Alshoruzen
Summary: Shinichi is the new detective at the magical crimes division, and Kaito is the demon he's made a contract with to help him on his cases. Their successes are drawing a lot of attention—perhaps too much. KaiShin





	1. Chapter 1

Shinichi's many successes since he'd joined the police's magical crimes department had garnered him a great amount of attention. More and more often reporters and journalists were calling in for interviews or popping up unexpectedly to try and get a comment or photo. Shinichi had freaked out when he'd stepped out of his house one morning to find two journalists waiting on his doorstep—at six in the morning. Never a morning person, having rapid and slightly intrusive questions fired at him only made it worse.

Truth be told, he had mixed feelings about his growing reputation. He was proud of his work and happy to be recognized for it, but he hated being pestered by people who didn't seem to understand the value of privacy. He might not have been quite as annoyed if they just wanted to ask about the case, but no, they had to ask about all kinds of unrelated things. He really didn't see why they thought it was appropriate to ask him what his favorite food was or if he was dating anyone. His personal life was personal and absolutely none of their business.

But the worst part was how much time even telling them to go away took up! It was all time he could be spending doing useful things like looking for evidence and interviewing witnesses in the latest case. Nowadays there were times when even seeing a journalist made him want to scream and kick something.

"You really should have expected this, you know."

Groaning, Shinichi lifted his head from where he had laid it on his office desk after hearing that he had another press interview later that day and gave Kaito a baleful look. "You are not helping."

The demon grinned down at him, completely unrepentant. "Perhaps not, but it's true. Although, if you would like, I think I could persuade them to leave you alone."

Shinichi paled and shook his head quickly. While he was sure that Kaito could do exactly as he said, he had no desire to be responsible for what would no doubt be the traumatizing of all those reporters who were really only doing their jobs.

"We have some new transfers coming into the department today too," Hattori said, apparently deciding that it was time to change the subject. "A guy and a girl, I think. Can't remember their names."

"New transfers?" Shinichi blinked in surprise. "From where?"

Hattori waved a hand dismissively. "Some other city. They're both new to the magical crimes department though. I think one's from fraud, and the other's from homicide."

"This should be interesting," Kaito mused. "There haven't been any new faces around here since we joined."

"Yep. And two at once at that. We're gettin' popular 'cause of Kudo here."

"Very funny Hattori," Shinichi grumbled. Honestly, why was he surrounded by people who liked to tease him?

Wrapped up in his own thoughts, Shinichi didn't notice the way a pair of indigo eyes had narrowed.

-0-

The two new recruits appeared to be the same age as Hattori and himself. The one on the right was a young man with dirty blond hair and brown eyes. His uniform was immaculate. Every fold was crisp and not a wrinkle could be seen anywhere. His stance mirrored his outfit—ramrod straight with shoulders back and head up high. The young man standing beside him had somewhat more boyish features beneath a mop of dark brown hair. His eyes were bright and inquisitive. Though not sloppy, his clothes didn't have the same fresh-off-the-press aura of his fellow newcomer.

"It's nice ta meet ya," Hattori said by way of greeting. "My name is Hattori Heiji, and this here is Kudo Shinichi. You two are the new transfers, right?"

"We are," the blond replied. "My name is Hakuba Saguru."

"Great. It kinda looks like the info we got is gonna have ta be updated though. It said one of ya would be a woman."

The second transfer grinned. "That would be me actually."

Hattori's jaw dropped. "Ya mean yer a girl?!"

"That's right." The female officer laughed. "The name's Sera Masumi. And don't worry. I get that a lot."

Seeing that Hattori was still gaping like he'd dislocated his jaw, Shinichi cleared his throat. "Since we're all the same age, Inspector Megure has asked Hattori and me to show you guys around and help you familiarize yourselves with the magical crimes division. Have either of you ever had any contact with magic?"

"One of the early cases dealing with that curse seller you guys caught. Of course that was when the issue was still being handled by the homicide division. Gave us a real run around, I'll tell you, since we couldn't find a murder weapon and the main suspect had a rock hard alibi. He was so smug about it too. You could just see that he was so sure we couldn't pin anything on him that he didn't care if we knew he was behind it or not. It was frustrating as hell."

"As for me, I have come across several cases where some spell work was involved, for instance in the creation of forgeries," the blond stated. "I have also encountered a few cases where magic was used to entice or trick victims into doing things they would otherwise not have done such as signing unfavorable contracts or turning over important information."

"Yeah, that kind of thing is pretty common unfortunately," said Hattori, having finally recovered from his shock over the revelation that Sera was indeed female. "Not all our work is related ta crime though. We also gotta deal with anything hazardous ta the public that could be magical even if it ain't manmade. Like that infestation o' man-eating plants ya may have read about. Sometimes it just turns out ta be weird and not magic at all, but weird is still our department. Come ta think of it, I guess we get loaded with just about everythin' that the other departments think is odd."

"Wait, so what kinds of things have you dealt with that haven't been magic?" Sera asked.

"Well, last month we got called in because this lady said she was bein' haunted by her late husband's ghost. She kept hearin' his voice, but there was never anyone there. Sometimes she saw him walkin' through the garden or reflected in her mirrors. Once, she even saw 'im walk down her house's main hallway and right through his old study door at the other end. It was totally freaking her out."

"Sounds supernatural to me."

"That's why she asked for us," Shinichi agreed. "But it was actually a conman trying to scare her into either leaving her house or selling it cheap."

"I read about that case," Hakuba commented. "That same conman was responsible for several other scams."

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask, am I seeing things or is there a guy who kinda looks like Kudo's evil twin standing behind him?"

Shinichi blinked. "Huh? Oh—er, no, this is Kaito," he said quickly. He had gotten so used to Kaito that he had completely forgotten that they had some similar features. He'd stopped seeing the similarities long ago, seeing instead all the little differences that made Kaito who he was. "We're not related."

"Kuroba Kaito," the demon introduced himself. "I'm Shinichi's partner."

"Should you not be in uniform?" Hakuba asked, a disapproving furrow appearing in his brows as he took in the demon's casual attire.

Hattori coughed. "That would be 'cause he ain't on the force. He's the demon Kudo works with."

"Wait. You're a demon?" Sera asked in surprise.

Kaito draped himself over Shinichi's back, arms wrapped loosely around the detective's shoulders, and grinned at the new transfers. "Guilty as charged~."

The young woman looked him over. "Wow," she marveled after a moment. "If you guys hadn't said anything, I would never have guessed that you weren't a hundred percent human."

Kaito beamed. "Why thank you. I always pay close attention to the details."

"It's often pretty hard to tell demons apart from the life forms on our plain of existence," Shinichi explained. "When they're here, they take on physical forms that work pretty much the same way ours do—when they choose to be human anyway. Some demons like to stand out though, and they might add or change things like grow some horns, add wings, or otherwise modify their appearances to be abnormal. I met a demon once who favored the form of a man with a wolf's head, claws, and eagle wings."

"Sounds weird."

"It was pretty unusual," he agreed.

"Then there are also some demons who don't have all that great a grasp of what you humans look like," Kaito cut in. "A lot of the ones who don't visit this plain regularly think humans all basically look the same."

Sera laughed. "I guess that makes sense. I never thought of it that way though. So does that mean they might also show up looking like everyday animals?"

Hattori nodded. "That's right. Though most o' the ones we've had trouble with have been human."

"Why's that?"

The dark-skinned man blinked then scratched his head. "I dunno. I never thought about it. Maybe it's 'cause it's easier ta cause trouble when they're masquerading as human. Very few people would take a talking animal seriously. And even if they did, it'd attract too much attention, so you'd get noticed fast by the authorities."

The young woman nodded in understanding before turning back to Kaito. "So I guess that means you can look like anyone."

"Yep." And suddenly there were two Hattori Heijis instead of one. The second Heiji stayed just long enough to wink before he was Kaito again. "But we each have shapes we prefer too. Some of us are quite famous, you know."

Hakuba cleared his throat, breaking his silence for the first time since the topic had turned to demons. "I was under the impression that demons could not exist on our plain without being summoned, and that they could not stay for prolonged periods of time."

"That's true for most demons," Shinichi explained. "But there are a handful, like Kaito, who can come and go on their own. As for the length of time they can stay, there are a lot of factors that play into determining that from the power of the demon to the strength of the wizard they are contracted with. How well they can utilize and conserve magical power also plays a part. Even the geography can change things. There are some locations that are just closer to their plain, making it easier for them to either travel back and forth or stay here."

Sera laughed. "That's pretty cool. So, Kuroba was it? So what do you do around here then?"

"This and that." Kaito waved a hand airily.

"Kaito knows a lot about history, magic, and lore," Shinichi said. "There've been a lot of cases that we wouldn't have been able to solve so quickly if we hadn't had his help."

The blond officer's expression did not clear. "You mean you trust it?"

It was Shinichi's turn to frown. "Kaito's not an it."

"Here, here!"

"And what does he," Hakuba pronounced the pronoun with a distinctly derisive slur, "demand for his aid?"

Hattori shrugged. "Can't say for Kudo, but the rest o' us just have ta keep the station well stocked with hot chocolate."

The blond looked dubious. "Hot chocolate."

"Yeah."

"…"

"You two!" Megure called across the room at that moment, cutting off any further debate. "Come see me in my office! I have some things for you."

"Yes, Sir!" both transfers chorused.

But before he left to follow Sera into the inspector's office, Hakuba gave Shinichi a long, hard look. "You should never trust a demon. They do not care for anyone but themselves. If they do a good deed, it is only because they want something in return."

The two detectives and one demon watched as Hakuba and Sera disappeared behind a closing door.

Kaito stuck his tongue out after them. "Now there's an unpleasant piece of work if ever I saw one. I like the girl though. She has a healthy curiosity and no predisposition to judge."

"That's always a plus," Hattori agreed. "It ain't easy not ta make assumptions though."

"Excuse me, Kaito? Could you come take a look at this for us? Takagi and I found it in that raid last week but no one seems to have any idea what it is."

"Sure. Come on Shinichi, it seems our dear colleagues are in need of our expertise!"

Kaito bounded after Officer Satou. Shinichi made to follow him at a much more sedate pace, but Hattori caught his arm before he could take two steps, pulling him back.

"Wait a moment."

Distracted blue eyes turned to look up at his dark-skinned friend. "What is it?"

He was answered with a frown. "You okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"Yer upset. I can tell. It was what the new guy said, wasn't it?"

Shinichi opened his mouth to deny it but stopped when Heiji raised an eyebrow. Instead, he sighed, looking away.

"It's just… Kaito isn't like that."

Hattori looked at him quizzically before shrugging. "Yeah, I know. But you gotta understand that a lot of demons are. It really ain't all that strange that most people don't trust 'em. The truth is, when demons wanna get serious about something, there's nothin' we humans can do about it. It's not easy ta admit it, but they've just got more power. O' course a lot of 'em can't make it ta this plain of existence without a human wizard's help, but that only makes the ones that can that much more dangerous."

"I know that they're not harmless, and they don't think the way humans do, but that's not the same as untrustworthy. They're all different just like we are. Individuals deserve to be evaluated for their own actions and not those of their brethren. I would have thought that an officer of the law should know at least that much."

Hattori stayed silent, letting his friend get it out of his system. When it seemed Shinichi was done, he reached out and placed a reassuring hand on the blue-eyed detective's shoulder. "Yer right. People ain't all that clear thinkin' though. But give it time. They'll come around. The rest of us did."

"…Thanks Hattori."

"No prob. Now let's go see what Satou was fussin' about."

-0-

"Do we really have to work with that sour puss?"

Shinichi sighed. It had been a long day made longer by the fact that he and Hattori had been assigned to work with the new transfers. That in itself wasn't what had been tiring though. It had been the tension. And Kaito had not made it easier.

"You should tell Megure we'd like a change," the demon continued, folding his arms behind his head, the picture of a man without a concern in the world.

Shinichi heaved yet another sigh. "You might be able to choose who you want to work with all the time, but I kind of have to do what my superiors tell me to."

"Well that's a bummer."

"…Do tell."

"We could always go somewhere else."

"No we can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I live here, obviously. You, on the other hand, can go anywhere you like. I…won't mind if you want to take off for a bit." By the end of his response, the detective's tone had grown much softer, almost anxious. "This arrangement is only for their adjustment period. Once they're settled in, things should go back to normal."

Indigo eyes softened. "Don't be silly. A few unpleasant humans don't bother me. Besides, the only place I want to be is right beside you."

"O—oh." Shinichi blushed, gaze fixed steadfastly on the path ahead. Kaito said such things to him all the time, but he couldn't help but redden even now, embarrassment and happiness making his insides flutter. They continued on in silence for the next few minutes.

"Kaito?"

"Yes?"

"I was wondering, why do you look a little bit like me?"

Kaito blinked then laughed. "I've been using this shape since long before I met you," he replied. Even for the first time, he added to himself. "I guess it's just fate."

And, he added to himself, a steely glint appearing in his eyes, he would not allow anyone to come between them. Ever.

-0-

The trouble started almost immediately the following morning. The magical crimes division being what it was, they had a special room at the station that had been carefully designed and built to be able to serve as a training room for spell casting. It was in this room that the five of them now stood. They had all been caught by surprise when informed at the station door upon their arrival that their day would mostly be spent here. The new transfers were surprised because it seemed neither of them had realized that working in the magical crimes division meant that they had to know some basic magic of their own.

"What if we can't use magic?" Sera asked. "Does that mean we'll be kicked out?"

"Everyone can use magic if they learn how to," Shinichi explained. "It's just that it's easier for some people than others. And you don't have to be a master. It's just safer for you—and the people around you—if you can cast certain basic spells."

"What kinds of basic spells?" Hakuba inquired.

"Stunning, lightin' a fire, calling light, shielding—that sort o' thing," Hattori replied, counting off on his fingers. "Ya may also wanna brush up on yer demonology on yer own time."

The blond stiffened, eyebrows drawing together. "Are you saying that we are going to have to learn to summon those creatures?"

"Ha! Like you could," Kaito scoffed from where he was leaning against the training room wall.

Hattori cleared his throat hastily. "No. That's not part o' the job description. And summoning is one o' the magical talents ya have ta be born with. That's why not everyone who can use magic is referred to as a wizard. But we do meet a lot o' demons in this line o' work, so being familiar with how it works and what's normal is a bit of a must."

"I see. I suppose that is reasonable."

"Ya know, we've been doing this for ages. We know what we're talkin' about," the dark-skinned officer snapped, starting to get a bit annoyed himself. He'd never been the most patient of people, but he'd spent a lot of time last night and this morning counseling himself that he had to be calm. For Shinichi's sake if nothing else. His friend didn't need to deal with Heiji's own temper on top of the animosity between Kuroba and the new guy. He was just glad that Sera seemed to be taking everything in stride, though he did find himself wondering what she was thinking behind that curious grin. He had the feeling that she wasn't as open as she seemed. Not in a suspicious, need to be watched way. Just a "she probably knows more than she's letting on" way.

"Why don't we get started?" Shinichi said into the stilted silence that had fallen after Hattori's outburst. "So neither of you have any experience with using magic?"

"I've bought a few charms now and then," Sera offered after a moment's thought. "Like the kind you hang with your clothes to keep the moths away and the kind that help keep a room warm or cool. They tend to have to be replaced after a few months, but they're pretty useful around the house."

"They are, aren't they?" Hattori agreed, laughing. "Those kinds o' charms are premade though. Ya don't have ta actually cast the spell yerself, so the user ain't actually using magic."

"Ah, I see. That makes sense. Guess that would make it too easy, eh?"

"Definitely. Woulda been nice though. Ya have no idea how many times I burned myself learnin' ta cast a proper fireball spell."

The girl whistled. "Whoa, that sounds kind of dangerous."

"It certainly is for everyone he practices with," Kaito snickered. "He owes everyone in the division at least two pairs of eyebrows by now."

"Hey! That's not true!"

"Hmmm, I guess you're right. It's got to be three pairs after what happened last week at the paint factory."'

Sera leaned forward, interested. "What happened at the paint factory?"

"Well~, we were all—"

"We're not talkin' about the paint factory!" Hattori cut in before Kaito could say any more. His face was beet red—not an easy color for him to achieve considering his dark complexion. "It's got nothin' ta do with them so they don't have ta know!"

"But they will have to work with you in the future," the demon pointed out, tone innocently reasonable. "And that means—"

"Okay that's enough you two," Shinichi interrupted. He could only imagine the kind of impression they were making on their new colleagues. Honestly, there were times when dealing with Kaito and Heiji at the same time made him feel like a single mother dealing with two argumentative kids.

Did he really just think that? He could sense the headache coming already.

"Since both of you are new to this, I think we should start with summoning light," he continued, turning back to their bemused audience of two. "It's a useful spell and arguably one of the easiest to learn. Most beginning magic users start there."

"What do you mean by arguably?" Hakuba asked.

"Well, the light spell itself is easy, but learning to adjust the intensity can actually be a bit complicated. You guys won't have to worry about that yet though. The important thing is to take it one step at a time."

"Is it going to blow up in our faces if we get it wrong?" asked Sera.

"No. Most spells just fizzle out if you get them wrong. Only a few really volatile spells will actually explode."

"Does he make a habit of using such volatile magic then?" Hakuba nodded in Hattori's direction.

Kaito began sniggering again as Hattori spluttered.

Shinichi coughed lightly. "Hattori's a bit of an exception. His spells are above averagely powerful."

Sera tapped her chin, giving Hattori a look over. "That's good, right?"

"Well…" Shinichi hesitated. "It's not a bad thing, but…"

"He means my control stinks," Hattori grumbled with a grimace. "So I can only cast more basic spells."

"To be a true master of the magical arts, you need to master the ability to adjust and control your magical energy," Kaito elaborated. "Having a lot of raw power but no control still means you can only use simple spells. On the other hand, a highly skilled magic user can accomplish a lot with very little energy. Of course, ideally, you'd have both."

Shinichi cleared his throat, bringing everyone's attention back to himself. "Now I'm going to describe how to summon a light while I show you. Then it'll be your turn."

Twenty minutes later, one amused demon watched as the four humans in the room staggered around with their hands over their eyes after Sera Masumi's first successful light spell went off like a flash bomb. It looked like this was going to be more fun than he had first thought.

-0-

"If you want fast, good, and affordable, this is the place ta go," Hattori announced. The five of them had decided to take a break from training to get lunch. Now they were seated around one of the tables in the restaurant two blocks from the station. "They're also open twenty four seven. Kazuha and I come here sometimes when we find ourselves out late."

"Kazuha? Who's that?" asked Sera.

"She's his girlfriend," Kaito answered before Hattori could. "Apparently they've been joined at the hip since they were little."

Hattori spluttered, going red. "We have not!"

"So does she work for the police too?"

"No, but you'll probably see a lot of her," Shinichi said. "She works at the Charm Emporium. It's the largest charm dealer in this district. Most of the officers in our department get their protective charms from there."

"Is it mandatory that we use charms?" asked Hakuba.

"It's not mandatory, but it is recommended that you keep at least a few on hand," Shinichi replied, preemptively stepping on Kaito's foot. "It's an added layer of protection that there just isn't any reason not to use."

"I understand that. But there are thousands of types of charms. How do you choose which to carry?"

"That's something yer gonna have ta feel out for yerself," Hattori replied. "But if ya head down ta the shop and have a chat with one of their staff. They help us find what we need all the time. I swear they can figure out what'll fit ya before you do! And once ya get real familiar with the abilities and limits o' charms, they can even make ones custom to yer needs, made especially ta work with you."

Sera leaned forward in her seat. "Customized charms? Does that mean you can ask them to just make one that does what you want?"

Shinichi shook his head. "Not exactly. It's more like…tailoring a shirt to fit you specifically instead of having a standard size. A customized charm will be a little stronger than the average because it's tuned to you and your needs specifically."

"Take Hattori here for example." Kaito waved a hand at the dark-skinned detective like he was introducing a museum exhibit. "He carries a flexible shielding charm made by Miss Kazuha crafted around memorabilia from their childhood together. It draws additional strength from those shared memories and emotions. It's saved his life on multiple occasions~."

Hattori's blush returned. "Oi, lay off on the teasin' would ya?" he grumbled. "I mean, you and Kudo are the ones who go everywhere together."

"Hey, there's nothing to be ashamed of," the demon drawled, smirking. "Such strong bonds should be celebrated, wouldn't you say?"

Sera laughed. But her fellow transfer's eyes widened. He looked from Shinichi to Kaito and back again.

Then the blond's face contorted in disgust. "You mean you two—but it's not even human!"

"Well actually," Kaito drawled, "technically speaking, while I am in this form, I am physically human. I just don't have what you call DNA."

There was an awkward silence.

Sera coughed lightly. "So this menus got a zillion things on it. What would you recommend?

It was as they were leaving the restaurant to head back to the station that Hakuba pulled Shinichi aside. "I have been following your work for some time now, and I respect the work you have done. As such, I have to tell you. It would be wise to be more cautious in your dealings with demons. I understand that you have been working with that demon for a long time, but to his kind, human lives are of little consequence. If you look through the history books, the past is littered with examples of the catastrophes that demons have brought about. Work with them if you must, but we cannot and should not rely on them."

Shinichi was silent for a moment before he spoke. "You're entitled to your opinion, as I am entitled to mine."

-0-

"What did that Hakuba guy say to you earlier?"

Shinichi's brows furrowed as he looked up from the book he'd been reading. He was sitting on Kaito's lap, so he couldn't see the demon's face. Instead, he stared at the television screen across the room. "He wanted to warn me."

"Oh?"

"I wonder if he's had a bad experience with demons before. He's convinced that demons can't be relied on."

Kaito snorted, arms tightening their hold around Shinichi's waist. "That bastard needs to be taught a lesson."

"Please don't. You'd just be proving him right."

Kaito heaved an overdramatic sigh. "Fine. But if he ever bothers you, just let me know and I'll make sure he learns his place."

"You really shouldn't do things like that for me—or anyone, for that matter."

"I would conquer the world for you in a heartbeat if you wanted it."

Shinichi frowned. "I'm not sure if you're being sweet or creepy."

Kaito laughed softly, nuzzling his face into the crook of Shinichi's neck. "Doesn't matter. It's true."

Shinichi thought vaguely that he might prefer that it wasn't.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been two weeks, and Kaito was already beginning to curse the day they—well, Shinichi anyway—had been assigned to work with the new transfers.

Well, new transfer. The Masumi girl he quite liked. It was the blond prat he couldn't stand. If it weren't for the fact that Shinichi would be upset, he would seriously be tempted to do something unpleasant to the blond. He was still tempted to do something unpleasant anyway since, as long as he avoided causing any real physical harm, he thought Shinichi would forgive him for most things. But it wasn't worth the turmoil, temporary or not.

He'd scented trouble from the very beginning, but he hadn't realized how annoying it was going to get until the third day of their acquaintanceship with the newcomers. That was when they were instructed to resume their field work.

"Our daughter won't wake up," the man sitting before them said. His looked haggard. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his clothes were a rumpled mess. The buttons were all mismatched. He had his arm around his wife. The woman had her face in her hands and was sobbing quietly.

"When did this start?" Shinichi asked.

"It was about three days ago. She went out with her friends from school that day. She said they were at the shopping district near their school. She seemed normal when she got home—really happy, in fact. We didn't suspect a thing. But she—she didn't get up the next morning. She hasn't opened her eyes once since then."

"Did ya take her to the hospital?" Hattori asked.

The father looked offended. "Of course we did. But they couldn't wake her up either."

Hakuba cleared his throat. "Did they have any theories about her condition?"

"They…they told us a lot of things that it wasn't," the woman replied, speaking for the first time since they'd arrived. She brushed the tears from her eyes and sat up straighter. "They concluded that it's magical—whatever it is. But they…they didn't know anything else. They said they've never seen anything like it. They…they said it could be a curse."

Shinichi traded glances with Hattori. "Can we see her?"

The couple nodded and rose from their seats, gesturing for their visitors to follow. They were shown up the stairs to a bedroom at the end of a clean, well lit hall. There was an awkward moment at the door to the girl's bedroom as Hakuba informed both the parents and Kaito that it would be easier for them to investigate if all the non-officers remained outside. Kaito thought he should be applauded for not laughing in the blond's face. Shinichi had hurried to smooth the situation over by noting that there was more than enough room for everyone.

The girl in question lay thin and pale in the middle of her bed. She was lying so still that she would have appeared to be dead if it weren't for the shallow rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. Straight, brown hair framed a delicate face that would have been pretty if not for the sickly pallor of her skin and the unhealthy blue tint to her lips. An IV had been set up beside her bed, looking rather out of place in the otherwise comfortably furnished room.

"They wanted to keep her at the hospital, but we…we didn't want that," the girl's mother murmured. Her husband wrapped a supportive arm around her shoulders, his own expression grim.

"So what do we do now?" Sera whispered to Shinichi, leaning over to examine the sleeping girl's face. "Do curses leave signs?"

"Not usually. But we can do this." Raising his hands, Shinichi muttered something under his breath that the female officer couldn't quite catch. A moment later a faint, blue glow spread from Shinichi's hands to blanket the sleeping teenager. It stayed around her like a foggy cloak before fading away.

Wait, Sera amended, looking closer. Most of the light had vanished, but the girl's necklace was still glowing with that eerie, ice blue color.

"There." Shinichi's eyes narrowed as he leaned closer, studying the necklace. Then he straightened and turned to the girl's parents. "Excuse me, but do you know where your daughter got this necklace?"

"Necklace?" Both parents looked confused. They moved closer to see for themselves.

"I…don't remember seeing that before," her father said, frowning. "Why is it glowing?"

"What I just cast was a magic detection spell. The fact that it's glowing means that it's magical."

The girl's mother gasped. "Does that mean it's what's doing this to her?"

"Very likely."

"Then what are you waiting for? Let's get rid of it." That said, the father reached out and seized hold of the necklace. The next thing they knew, there was a blinding flash of light and a scream followed by a loud thud. When they could all see again, the man was slumped against the wall, unconscious. It was his wife's turn to scream.

Hattori rushed to the fallen man's side and checked his pulse. "It's okay," he reported. "He's alive. It just knocked him out."

"B—but what was that?"

"It's a protective enchantment to prevent people from removing the necklace, obviously," Kaito replied from where he was leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. "Quite a powerful one too."

"Why would anyone do such a thing?!" the woman exclaimed, anguish and fear making her voice crack.

Sera moved to place a soothing hand on the distraught mother's arm. "That's what we're going to find out." She paused before continuing in a softer voice. "Would you like to wait outside?"

"You can show us where ta place yer husband," Hattori added. "It'd probably be better not ta just leave 'im lyin' on the ground."

"O—oh. Right…"

"Oi Hakuba, come give me a hand."

As the two male officers left with the couple, Sera turned back to Shinichi. "Can you tell what exactly the necklace is doing to her? Is she just sleeping?"

"No, it's definitely more than that," Shinichi replied, frowning in concentration. "I have a few guesses, but… Kaito?"

The demon left his spot against the wall and wandered over to stand beside Shinichi, hands stuffed in his pockets. The two conversed for a moment in low voices that Sera couldn't quite make out. She watched them with curious eyes. It still amazed her how human the demon seemed. While she didn't share her fellow transfer's prejudices against demon kind, she did have to admit that she found Kaito's constant presence both confusing and just a bit intriguing. She found herself trying to figure out how much of it was an act. No, it wasn't because she thought Kaito had malignant intentions hidden behind that cheery grin like Hakuba thought, but rather that she had noticed certain…moments. They were few, fleeting, and difficult to pick out, and she might have thought it was her imagination except that she knew she wasn't prone to imagining such things. It had happened when they had first stepped into this house and heard the worried parents explain what had happened to their daughter. It was a brief pause between expressions as though the man was calculating what that following expression or reaction should be. And yet his behavior didn't seem insincere or fabricated. She supposed he could just be a good actor or just naturally the calculating sort—he'd definitely shown signs of both. But part of her (call it intuition) thought that perhaps at least some of it was because he was still learning what the responses from a human point of view should be. And she had to wonder…

What could lead an entity whose very nature was so different from their own to want to learn how to be human? Was it just to perfect his act? Or did he really see something in them that he wanted to have as part of himself?

She suspected that her more romantically inclined friends would squeal that it was love, but she rather thought it was more complicated than that. After all, you had to see worth before you could really love something or someone.

There was a clatter at the door, and Hattori came back in followed by Hakuba.

"So ya guys find anything?"

Shinichi nodded. "We think her soul's been sent away."

"Really?" The dark-skinned detective frowned faintly. "I thought for sure it was some kind of life energy draining thing."

"That was my other guess," the blue-eyed detective admitted.

"But the abruptness of the change in her condition from perfectly healthy to this suggests otherwise," Kaito finished for him. "The victims of most draining spells show symptoms gradually over an extended period of time. Faster acting drains just take everything all at once, so if it was that then she should've just died when it went into effect."

"A body without a soul can't sustain itself for long," Shinichi continued. "One week is the longest most can manage, though if we use the right protective charms, we should be able to keep her body stable for up to a month—maybe a month and a half if we're lucky."

"Can we not break the spell?" Hakuba asked.

Kaito smirked. "You can, but I wouldn't bother if I were you."

The blond glared. "Well we're not you. We don't need payment to put effort into helping people."

The demon sneered. "Listen, Amateur, if someone breaks that spell and removes the necklace before the girl's soul is found and secured, her soul will be lost for good. She'll die."

Hakuba opened his mouth then shut it again.

Shinichi pinched the bridge of his nose. He was developing a headache. "What we need to do right now is set up the necessary charms that will help sustain her body. Then we have to find who made this necklace and figure out where he or she sent the girl's soul so we can retrieve it."

"I'll run over to the Charm Emporium then." Hattori turned to the door then turned back again to grab Hakuba's arm. "You come with me. You gotta brush up on yer basics."

Shinichi flashed his dark-skinned friend a grateful smile and got a wink back in return before the two officers disappeared.

"Now we have to explain everything to her mother," he said, not looking forward to the task but knowing it was necessary.

They found the woman in question sitting alone in the kitchen and watching a kettle heating on the stove. She looked up with no little amount of dread when they entered.

"How…how is she?"

The three traded looks before joining her at the table. Shinichi cleared his throat and set about explaining what they had found. The woman's expression grew cloudier with each word uttered. When they were done, she looked little better than her comatose daughter.

"We need to know if you have any idea who she might have gotten the necklace from," the detective concluded.

"I…I don't know."

"Does she have a boyfriend?" Sera asked.

"She hasn't mentioned anyone," the woman said a little uncertainly.

"How about an ex?"

"No, I don't think so. She's never shown much interest in dating."

"You mentioned that she went shopping that day with her friends," Shinichi recalled. "Do you know where exactly they went and who she went with that we could talk to?"

"I don't know where exactly they went, but she went with her two best friends. I can call them right now and see if they're available to speak with you."

Ten minutes later, the atmosphere in the kitchen was a cross between shocked, disturbed, and worried.

"No way," Sera muttered. "This is serious."

Kaito turned to Shinichi. "Shall I pop over and let Hattori know we'll need more of those charms?"

Shinichi nodded. "Thanks."

The demon flashed him a quick, reassuring smile then vanished, making the lady of the house jump.

The rest of the day had been something like a train wreck. The charms were rushed to the comatose girl's house (or rather Hattori and Hakuba rushed because the latter refused to let Kaito take the charms and teleport them back with him). Shinichi had set them up and then they'd all headed over to the girl's friends' houses to set up the rest of the charms. Both those friends had also been out cold. According to their respective parents, it had all started on the same night, and, as they had anticipated, both the other girls also had necklaces like the first.

The one stroke of good luck they had all day was that the last victim had an older brother who knew where the three girls had been. Unfortunately, the shopping district they had been visiting was the largest and busiest in the entire city. The brother himself insisted it had to be one of his sister's male classmates who, he said, had been bothering her. But since said classmate had no experience with magic or any connection to anyone who did, the police decided that he was unlikely to be the culprit.

The entire department was in a somber mood that evening. It looked like things were about to get busy again.

By then, Kaito could already tell that things were about to take a turn for the annoying.

Not only were they going to have to train the new transfers' magical skills in addition to solving cases, but one of those transfers had an attitude that would vex the most patient of demons. Considering his dear detective's workaholic tendencies… Well, suffice to say, they probably wouldn't be having much in the way of time to themselves in the near to semi-distant future.

-0-

"This is a map of the shopping district where the soul-stealing necklaces were apparently given to the victims," Shinichi said, spreading a large, paper map over the conference room table. The edges of the map flopped over the sides of the table.

Hattori let out a low whistle. "Ya know, I didn't notice before, but that shopping center is gigantic! There's gotta be more than a hundred stores on that map!"

"Four hundred and fifty six, to be exact," Hakuba said. "That count includes restaurants and permanent vendors' stands." He produced a handful of pamphlets and handed them out to his fellow officers, pointedly skipping the one non-officer present. Shinichi shifted when he opened his copy so that Kaito could look over his shoulder. It was one of the shopping district's mini maps.

"The problem is, we don't even know if they got the things from a store or from another visitor," Sera pointed out, skimming over the listed shops in their different categories. "If only we had more to go on. It's too bad none of those girls bought anything that day. Then we could have narrowed down the areas they were more likely to have visited."

Shinichi sighed. "We'll just have to start the old fashioned way. Maybe someone in the area saw them. It may also be a good idea to examine the work of all the local jewelers. The design of the pendant on the necklace was pretty unique. We can look for jewelers with similar styles of work."

As they left the conference room that day, each with their own assignment, none of them suspected just how big the case was going to get. Hattori was thinking about the Charm Emporium and how it had contracts with many of the city's jewelers and often participated in joint craftsmen shows. Maybe they would be able to identify whose work the necklaces might have been or at least suggest people they could ask. Hakuba was mentally drawing a grid over the section of the shopping center he would be searching the following day and planning the most efficient way to cover all that ground without missing anything. Sera was remembering how she'd overheard her neighbors talking the other day. One of them had mentioned meeting up with his girlfriend the very day the victims had been there at a café Sera knew was situated just beside one of the shopping center's main promenades. He'd mentioned being there all afternoon, and from what she knew of him, he'd always been a people watcher. On top of that, she recalled that his girlfriend worked at that very shopping center. He would be a good person to begin her investigation with. Shinichi was trying to remember where he'd stashed his books on soul related magic. He knew he had some, and maybe they would shed some light on why anyone would wish to steal souls. That was what was bothering him most. Who could possibly benefit from such a crime? If it was attempted murder, there were many, many easier ways. No, there had to be more to it. If they could work out who would benefit from the necklaces then it would be much easier to track down the missing souls and save the victims before they actually died.

As for Kaito, he was wondering what it was about humans that made them go out of their way to bother each other and cause trouble. True, most demons didn't much like each other's company, but at least they could all mutually agree then to just keep themselves to themselves (there were a few exceptions, obviously, but still, it worked most of the time). The majority of conflicts between demons resulted from their contracts with humans, and those instances were generally matters of business. Nothing personal. Perhaps it was because humans cared so much about what other people thought, he mused. Most demons couldn't care less what their fellows thought about anything. Since they didn't care, they didn't argue. It was that simple. Then again, he supposed, humans didn't have the power to live on their own. Since they had to rely on each other, they had no choice but to care what others thought and did.

Come to think of it, Shinichi had said something about that to him once a long, long time ago. It had been sometime near the beginning. Back then though, Kaito hadn't understood.

-0-

"Shinichi, you've been at this for hours."

No response.

"You realize it's almost dawn, right?"

Still no answer.

"You already skipped dinner. You can't skip breakfast too."

Silence.

"Did you fall asleep reading again?" Padding across the study, Kaito leaned down to peer at his detective's face. No, those pretty blue eyes were open. Not asleep then. They were a little unfocused though, clearly miles away.

Kaito straightened and considered the cowlick on the back of the detective's head for a moment. Then he snapped his fingers. A mug of coffee popped into existence on the desk beside the pile of magical texts Shinichi had been reading.

Blue eyes blinked, their owner lured out of his daze by the tantalizing aroma of fresh coffee. Like a moth to a flame, he turned towards the mug. His eyes brightened, and he had just made to pick up the mug when it vanished just as quickly as it had appeared.

Shinichi pouted and finally turned to look up at him. "Kaito," he complained, his tone conveying his disgruntlement with the little trick.

"You can have the coffee after you eat something."

The detective gave him a reproachful look that only made the demon smile. Recognizing a lost battle when he saw one, Shinichi surrendered. "Fine." He stood up and almost fell back into his chair as pins and needles assaulted his legs. Okay, note to self. Long hours on a hardwood chair without moving? Bad idea.

A strong arm wrapped around his waist, steadying him. "That's what you get for not taking breaks when you should."

Shinichi blushed and scowled, but he couldn't argue that Kaito had a point. So he let the demon lead him to the kitchen where a to-go box of pasta from one of the local restaurants sat waiting on the table. He felt a twinge of guilt when he saw it. That restaurant only opened in the afternoon, so Kaito must have gotten it last night. Shinichi hadn't even noticed. And it looked like Kaito hadn't touched it either. Of course, the demon didn't strictly have to eat, but Shinichi knew he enjoyed it very much.

"Here." Moving quickly to the cupboards, Shinichi fetched two plates and set about dividing up the pasta and reheating it. It was only as the tantalizing aroma of hot pasta started permeating the kitchen that he realized just how hungry he really was.

They ate in a companionable silence. When Shinichi had finished, he looked up to find that the mug of coffee that had eluded him earlier had made a reappearance sometime while he wasn't looking. He picked it up and turned a grateful smile towards his partner.

"Thank you," he said, referring not just to the coffee and food. There were, he thought, many, many things that he had to be grateful to Kaito for. Sometimes, he wished he was better at saying so, but he had the feeling deep down that Kaito already knew.

Kaito wasn't just a—a business partner like most demons were with the wizards they made contracts with. He was a confidante that Shinichi was comfortable sharing his thoughts with and a thoughtful friend who paid attention to the little things. He watched Shinichi's back—indeed, had saved his life on multiple occasions—and offered support and comfort when the detective was feeling down. Kaito had taught him how to enjoy many of those little things in life he had once paid no attention to. Looking at all that, Shinichi thought that it really shouldn't be surprising that he had fallen in love with the demon even if he had struggled for so long with admitting it. Although he also had to admit that he still didn't entirely understand why Kaito had chosen him.

Kaito had sought him out, he was sure of that. But how the demon had even known he existed was a complete mystery that the demon himself had never explained. When Shinichi brought it up, he only ever laughed and said something about the wheels of fate (who knew a demon could be such a romantic?).

Shinichi gave himself a shake. Now wasn't really the time to be pondering the oddities of his partner and the development of their relationship.

"What's on your mind?"

Looking up, Shinichi blushed and cast around quickly for something believable to say. "I…was wondering what anyone could want with dislocated souls." It was true too, he mused. He'd been wondering that all day—er, night. It just wasn't what had been on his mind a few seconds ago. "I don't suppose you have any guesses?"

Kaito actually looked chagrined. "Unfortunately, souls aren't really my area of expertise."

Shinichi blinked. Kaito rarely ever admitted to being bad at anything. "Oh. Um, well, do you know anyone who might know more then?"

Kaito hesitated for a moment before answering, his words slow and measured. "There is one demon whose very well versed in these kinds of things," he said slowly. "She's another one that can travel between our plains as she wishes, and last I checked she kept several manors in assorted locations. But she's—tricky. She doesn't make deals with humans. The deals she does make, she makes only if the task amuses her, and even then her prices are hefty."

Shinichi sighed. "That's not much help then."

"No," Kaito agreed. "But I can tell you what I've heard from her, although I cannot guarantee that any of it is completely—if at all—true."

Shinichi had to smile then. "I guess we'll just have to compare notes then."

"Not much luck with the books?"

"Unfortunately." A grimace flashed across his face, but he shook it off. "As far as I could gather, most soul related magic is focused around how to read people. There is a minor study on how to safely send your soul out of your body to travel, but it's tricky and dangerous if done improperly. And it doesn't explain why anyone would want to dislocate someone else's soul."

"So you still don't believe it could just be a very round about attempt at murder?"

"I guess it's not impossible, but like we discussed before, it doesn't make sense to go to such lengths. Someone with these skills could just as easily have just slapped a killing curse on the necklaces and been done with it. No, there must be more to it." He paused to take another sip of coffee. "So you said you've heard some things…?"

"Mostly general things. Souls are the essence of a person—the core of your personality, talents, and that sort of thing. They are also, for the most part, eternal. When a human dies, its soul travels first to a higher plain before returning to be reborn. The length of time between reincarnations varies—"

"Wait, you mean people really do get reborn?"

"Yes." The demon's voice was unusually quiet. "But the soul is also the only part of a person that makes the transition. Bodies are often similar—or so I've been told—because souls get accustomed to certain vessels, and that has some influence over the way the bodies develop, but again, it depends."

"Have you ever recognized anyone from another life of theirs?" Shinichi asked, intrigued.

For some reason, the question made Kaito laugh. "A few times."

Shinichi frowned slightly. Was it just him or was there a note of sadness in Kaito's voice when he said that? "Have you heard anything about what someone might actually be able to do with it if they got a hold of another person's soul?"

"For the most part, no. I believe there were humans in the past who thought you could use souls to animate faux or dead bodies, but it didn't generally work too well. Not a good fit. And life energy is part of the body, not the soul, so actually moving still required something else. If the original body is still alive, the soul will retain access to the memories it has in that life, but communicating with a disembodied soul isn't easy either. Understanding them is even harder. Oh, and I've heard that some souls can be quite pretty."

Shinichi stared at him. "…Huh?"

Kaito shrugged. "It's just what I've heard. Remember, I'm not an expert on this subject, and Koizumi only tells me things when she has a motive to do so."

Shinichi supposed that meant that this Koizumi was the expert. "Well, that's more than I knew before. Thank you."

Kaito smiled. "No problem." Draining the last of his own sweetened coffee, he rose from the table. "If you go now, you should be able to get at least an hour or two of sleep before we have to head out. I'll clean up."

Shinichi rose too. "You really don't have to. I can do that later."

But the demon waved him away. "That's alright. I don't need to sleep, remember?" Leaning down, he stole a quick coffee-flavored kiss before giving Shinichi a push towards the kitchen doorway. "Now go on. You won't be any use to anyone if you don't get at least a little rest."

Later, as he stood by Shinichi's bedroom window, looking up at the brightening night sky and listening to the soft, even breathing of his slumbering love, Kaito wished once again as he had done countless times before that there was some way for Shinichi to remember all those other lifetimes they had spent together. All those memories, so precious to him yet lost forever to the one he'd made them with… He wondered sometimes where all those memories went for Shinichi. Were they truly lost? Or was it remotely possible that they were tucked away somewhere deep inside him? Somewhere where even Shinichi himself couldn't reach them but there all the same, safe…

Kaito would like to think that that was it, but it wasn't a matter that he allowed himself to dwell on too much.

Their time together was too precious to waste on such pointless thoughts.

His hands clenched reflexively by his sides.

It felt like they never had enough time. Those few blissful years between each reunion and parting were never long enough.

If only…


	3. Chapter 3

Shinichi had no idea how he'd ended up here, sprawled on his desk with his pants and undergarments missing and a certain demon moving between his legs.

Scratch that. He knew how, there really wasn't much to wonder about in that department even if his recollection of the exact sequence of events was blurred by the speed with which it had all happened. He was more confused about why. Although he suspected that most people wouldn't understand why that was a question either. After all, most people would probably say that a desire for intimacy with your significant other was reason enough in and of itself. But that wasn't what was causing Shinichi's confusion. The part of the whole situation that was bugging him was how sudden it had been. He'd had no warning at all. One moment he was working, the next he'd been grabbed.

Now he knew that Kaito was the spontaneous sort, but he was big on atmosphere. Everything about his actions now seemed rushed.

There was something else too. But Shinichi's ability to think was rapidly going down the drain.

He moaned loudly. His fingers tangled themselves in Kaito's wild hair. All he could think about was that mouth and that tongue and oh god—

His back arched and he came. Stars danced across his vision.

Kaito rose, licking his lips as he surveyed his handiwork. Shinichi lay sprawled on the large and now rather disorderly desk, bare legs open and dangling over the side. His chest was still rising and falling rapidly as he panted for breath, eyes fluttering and cheeks flushed pink.

Such a tantalizing image. And all just for him. He snapped his fingers, conjuring the bottle from the drawer of the nightstand in their room.

Having caught his breath, Shinichi made to slide off the desk only to be stopped by a hand on his chest. A hot mouth covered his before he could speak, and a tongue plunged into his mouth. He made a muffled noise—though even he didn't know if it was supposed to be a protest or encouragement. Whatever it had been meant to be, it turned quickly to a moan when two slick fingers pushed their way inside him. They immediately went to work, thrusting in and out as they twisted and scissored, stretching him. His own spent member twitched and began to harden again at the stimulation.

Almost too quickly, a third finger joined the first two. The increased strain in his rear made Shinichi squirm. Those talented fingers were touching all the most sensitive places inside him, sending tingling jolts of heat and pleasure pulsing through his body. The hungry mouth now trailing biting kisses down his throat were not helping at all (or maybe he should say that they were helping all too much). He moaned, scraping blunt nails over Kaito's shoulder blades.

The fingers stilled then withdrew. He whimpered. He was almost painfully hard once again, and he just wanted to feel Kaito inside him again—

Something pressed against his entrance, and his breath hitched. His pulse sped up in anticipation.

They moaned together as Kaito thrust himself inside. He relished the feeling of Shinichi's tight, searing heat sliding over and around him in that oh so intimate embrace. He continued to press forward until he was fully sheathed. He stilled then, partly to give his lover time to adjust to his invasion and partly to just savor the pleasure of being buried deep in his detective's quivering body.

Shinichi had his eyes shut, panting softly as he ordered himself to relax and not clench against the intrusion. He thought he would have gotten used to this feeling by now, but it seemed he'd been wrong. The sensation was just as overwhelmingly intense every time as it had been that first time. The pressure and slight burning sensation of being stretched and filled by Kaito sent shudders up his spine that escaped his lips in soft gasps and small, breathless whimpers.

Wanting more, he shifted his hips in an attempt to get Kaito to move. The demon was all too eager to oblige.

There was something incredibly satisfying about having Shinichi writhing on the desk under him with reports and evidence files strewn haphazardly about them, completely forgotten. In these moments, as Shinichi cried out his name each time Kaito's thrusts hit that spot inside him that made the detective's spine arch, he knew with absolute certainty that Shinichi was thinking about no one and nothing but him.

And damn but Shinichi always did make the most beautiful sounds when they were like this.

He crushed his lips to Shinichi's, swallowing his detective's next cry as Shinichi clenched tight around him—capturing and holding him close as they rode the waves of passion together.

Mine.

-0-

"What's gotten into you lately?" Shinichi asked, frowning at Kaito. He was now sitting on the demon's lap. They were still rather less than fully dressed, but that was the least of Shinichi's concerns at the moment.

The demon gave him an innocent look that Shinichi didn't buy for an instant. "What do you mean?"

Shinichi was not impressed. "Is something wrong?"

"Of course not." The demon leaned in to recapture his detective's lips.

With an effort, Shinichi broke the kiss and pushed Kaito away. "That's exactly what I mean! You keep doing that. Something's bothering you, and you won't talk to me about it. You just keep—changing the subject."

Kaito laughed lightly, wrapping his hands around Shinichi's and bringing them up to brush his lips over the detective's knuckles. "You're imagining things."

"No I'm not."

The demon only pressed a kiss to his palm. "Come now, Detective. Don't frown. You're much prettier when you smile~."

Shinichi huffed, pulling his hands free and sliding off of Kaito's lap to stand, clean up, and straighten out his messed up outfit. "If you really don't want to tell me then fine, but I just wish—" He choked a little and turned away quickly so that Kaito wouldn't be able to see his face. His hands busied themselves organizing the items strewn across the desk. "I'm going back to the shopping center. Are you coming with me?"

Indigo eyes softened as they watched Shinichi putting things away. "Of course."

-0-

Shinichi knew he wasn't imagining things. Something was up with Kaito, but the demon just would not tell him. And while Shinichi prided himself on his ability to get to the bottom of mysteries, it was kind of difficult to pursue a line of questioning when the person you were trying to question had his tongue in your mouth and his hands somewhere it would have been indecent of them to be had the two of you been in public. It was, Shinichi was certain, Kaito's way of distracting him from asking more questions.

Why didn't Kaito trust him with—with whatever it was? The question echoed in his head even as he made his way through the bustling crowds at the shopping center.

He kept telling himself that Kaito must have his reasons, but that didn't make it hurt any less that Kaito wasn't willing to share his problems with him.

Sighing, he continued on his rounds, looking at the stalls and talking to the passersby. It was when he stopped for a drink at a fruit juice venue that he saw it.

This stall had a wind chime hanging from the awnings. Most wind chimes had at least one centerpiece. And the pendulum centerpiece of his wind chime was danging a jewel pendant that looked almost exactly like those that the cursed girls had been given.

Shinichi turned to tell Kaito then remembered that he'd asked the demon to search the next street over. Turning back, he strode up to the counter. "Excuse me, but can you tell me where you got that wind chime? That ornament on it is really beautiful."

"Ah," the man running the booth exclaimed with a beaming smile. "It is quite a pretty piece, isn't it? My daughter brought it home yesterday. She said she won it off a man running a raffle. So she brought it home. My Emi isn't really into jewelry though. And our wind chime was broken, so we thought we'd fix it by using the pendant. It's worked out wonderfully."

"Yes," Shinichi murmured, staring hard at the pendant. "It has. Would you be willing to sell this wind chime to me?"

The juice seller looked startled. "I'm sorry, but it isn't for sale. It was a gift from my wife's late sister. She would be terribly upset to part with it. That's why we repaired it instead of getting a new one."

"Oh. I see. I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"That's alright. Would you like a mango passion fruit smoothie? It's our newest flavor."

Shinichi bought the smoothie then found himself a position on the other side of the street from where he could watch the wind chimes. They couldn't just leave the pendant there. Not only would it be a danger to people, it could also be an important clue. They could just confidscate it as part of the investigation, but he would prefer if there was another way.

"Yo! Taking a break?"

Shinichi looked up to find that Kaito was back. The demon leaned back against the railing behind them. He cast a glance down at the river running past on the other side then turned to grin at Shinichi.

"Not exactly. I found one of the pendants. One that's not being used."

"Oh?" Kaito followed Shinichi's gaze to the wind chimes at the juice vendor's. He laughed. "Now that's not a place you see jewelry every day. Shouldn't we be taking it?"

"I asked if he would sell the wind chimes to me, but it has sentimental value. And he seemed quite proud of the way he used the pendant to fix the chimes."

"I see. Well, if you're trying to avoid a disturbance, I could always create a replica. Then we can swap out the real pendant and be on our way with no one the wiser."

Shinichi considered this option. It was perhaps a bit unorthodox, but it would save everyone a lot of trouble and unnecessary anxiety. "How long would it take you to make a replica?"

"I had a good look at the others, so it won't take long. Twenty minutes, give or take. Just wait here. When we're done, we'll have dinner."

Shinichi would have liked to take the pendant directly to a lab, but he knew from Kaito's tone that the issue would not be negotiable.

Left with nothing to do but to wait, Shinichi turned to look out over the river. The day was a mild one with slightly cloudy skies and a soft, pleasant breeze.

"Oh hey, I've seen you in the papers!"

Startled, Shinichi turned to find himself the focus of attention of half a dozen teenagers. It was one of the guys who had spoken. He was pointing excitedly—and a little rudely—at Shinichi as he spoke to his friends. "He's that detective. You know, the one they keep talking about in the papers."

The girl standing next to him lit up. "You're right." Excited, she fumbled through her purse. "Hey, can we take a picture with you?" Not waiting for an answer, the entire group crowded forward.

Shinichi would have backed up if it weren't for the fact that it would mean falling into the river. They were obscuring his view of the juice vendor.

"Excuse me," he tried to excuse himself, but none of them were listening. They were already arranging themselves as they appointed a photographer. When he finally managed to escape their clutches, he stumbled straight into Kaito.

"Don't laugh," he grumbled as he stepped quickly around so that Kaito would be blocking him from the view of the enthusiastic teenagers. He set about straightening out his clothes. "Did you get the pendant?" He looked up then and paused. He'd expected to see amusement on the demon's face. Instead, he found Kaito frowning. The expression vanished an instant later though. It had gone so quickly that Shinichi wasn't entirely sure he'd seen it.

"Right here," Kaito said with his usual good cheer. He held up the small, glittering pendant. "It turns out it's synthetic."

Shinichi blinked. "What?"

"The stone. It's manmade."

Understanding dawned. "That could be useful. The lab might be able to determine which makers are more likely to have created it. The curse maker should be a client or someone else with access."

"Yep." The pendant vanished with a flick of Kaito's wrist. "We'll take it to the lab right after we have dinner."

-0-

Since the gems used in the cursed necklaces were synthetic, they had collected sample stones from every maker of synthetic gems in the city and sent the whole lot down to the lab for analysis. If they could figure out where the culprit was getting his or her stones, it would go a long way in tracking the person down. Unfortunately, that meant that all Shinichi and the others could do now was wait for the lab.

Frustrating or not, it was a fact that they couldn't get around. So they had been assigned to handle some smaller, less dangerous cases while they waited. This left them with time to help the new transfers resume their interrupted magical training in addition to getting to know them better.

It was in hopes of the latter that Shinichi was here now, seated across a café table from Hakuba Saguru. Technically they had met up to go over the details of a minor case where an old, paranoid wizard was cursing everyone who knocked on his door (the man had been given multiple warnings about his behavior but to no avail. His grandchildren, also his only living relatives, were hoping to be able to convince him to see a psychiatrist, but they needed the police to help them approach the man as he wouldn't answer his phone, and the postman refused to go anywhere near his home. Even said grandchildren had had to dodge curses last time they tried to visit). The two detectives had already finished reviewing the case and settled on a time and plan of approach though. With business out of the way, Shinichi hesitated a moment before clearing his throat.

"Excuse me, but there's something I've been meaning to ask you."

"Yes?"

Shinichi took a sip of his coffee before continuing, picking his words with utmost care. "Before you transferred into this division, did you happen to have any cases involving demons?"

"You wish to know what kinds of dealings I have had with them."

Shinichi nodded. There really wasn't any point beating around the bush. The blond was too sharp not to notice.

"I'll tell you then. Perhaps then you will learn that you need to begin heeding my warnings."

Shinichi didn't say anything. He just waited.

Hakuba took a drink of his tea before speaking. "I mostly dealt with fraud cases, as I have mentioned before. One day, a young woman came to us. She came, she told us, because a dear friend of hers had been tricked, and she wanted us to deal with the culprit before he could claim any more victims. The officers she spoke to were confused, so they sent her to me. She wished to tell me about her friend, Midori. They had graduated from the same university and had been good friends for many years.

"Miss Midori, she told me, went back to live with her mother after university in order to take care of her. The woman had a terrible sickness that none of the doctors could cure. In fact, they couldn't even identify the illness. As her husband had passed away many years ago, it fell to her daughter—her only living relative—to look after her. Being a nurse herself, Miss Midori spent much of her free time trying to find a cure for her mother's ailment. She spoke to dozens of specialists and read all the books she could find on rare maladies and their treatments. After much hard work, she succeeded in identifying the problem. It was a very ancient disease that had last been seen centuries ago. Unfortunately, the books did not reveal a cure. The disease was simply too obscure, and, with the cases being from so long ago, no one had studied it either. Suffice to say, she did not find a cure. She did, however, find references to a demon who might have her answers. Her friend did her best to persuade her not to, but Midori decided to call upon the demon for aid despite her warnings. The demon did indeed agree to help her create the cure for her mother's illness. Apparently, it was a difficult process that took many weeks. During that time, the demon lived with Miss Midori and her mother. Long story short, they became intimately involved. According to her friend, she truly loved that demon. They finished creating the cure, and Miss Midori's mother's condition began to improve.

"As you can imagine, the girl was delighted. To her, it seemed everything was going perfectly. However, Miss Midori was out walking back with her mother from the grocery store one evening when they were hit by a drunk driver. Her injuries were light, but her mother died at the hospital. Heartbroken, she sought out that demon. Her friend, the one who brought her story to us, didn't know exactly what words passed between them. What she did know was that the creature's words had been cruel. He mocked her then left, as he had apparently found someone else he was interested in playing with." The blond's lip curled in disgust as he recounted the tale. "Having lost both her mother and her lover in one day, Miss Midori succumbed to depression and eventually took her own life. Of course, technically speaking, the demon did not break any laws. And there is the matter that we have no power to enforce our laws upon them. So I had no choice but to inform the girl's friend that there was nothing we could do. I did, however, do some investigating into the matter. It took a lot of digging, but I was able to discover several other cases of women who suffered similar fates at the hands of that demon."

"That's awful," Shinichi agreed solemnly. "But there are humans like that too. People who get their kicks from toying with other people's feelings. We've both arrested enough of them to know that."

"Perhaps. However, humans cannot simply escape all responsibility by vanishing to another plane of existence. Demons are not bound to the laws of our world, either those of society or even those of physics. They can do whatever they please however they please even if that means hurting others, and yet they never have to face the consequences. And that is why you should never trust one. They will give their aid just as willingly to a villainous cause as a just one just so long as they get what they want in return. I am not claiming that they are evil by nature, but they lack our sense of responsibility. And that means that all their actions are guided only by their own selfish desires."

-0-

Shinichi sighed, poking halfheartedly at the food on his plate. His thoughts kept drifting back to the conversation he'd had with Hakuba earlier. He felt like he should have said more. He'd wanted to point out that responsibility was something that had to be learned. Humans weren't born responsible either. But he supposed that if he'd pointed that out, Hakuba would have pointed out that demons, immortal and self sufficient as they were, had no reason to learn.

Across the table, Kaito frowned at his detective's pensive expression. "Did that prat say something to bother you? If he did, I'll—"

"No, no, it's not that," Shinichi said quickly. The last thing he needed was Kaito going off to punish Hakuba for some imaginary insult. "He didn't say anything like that, really. We just…had a talk about a case he had before. One that involved a demon."

He recounted the story.

Kaito listened without saying anything until he was done. "I think I know who that was."

"You mean the girl who died?"

"No, the demon she made a contract with. If it's who I'm thinking then he's always been like that. He only signs contracts with women, and he only accepts one form of payment."

Shinichi's mind put two and two together and he grimaced in disgust. "That's just…" He couldn't even find the words to express his revulsion, so he just shook his head. "Why would anyone agree?"

Kaito shrugged. "It depends. When people are desperate or just want something badly enough, they'll often agree to things they wouldn't have under normal circumstances. See, his specialty is herb lore, medicine, poisons and antidotes. Most people who go looking for him do so because there's someone they want to save. And generally, with his help, they succeed."

Shinichi opened his mouth then closed it again, not sure what to say. Put that way, he supposed he could understand. He couldn't approve, but he couldn't say it was entirely without conscience either. It was just unfortunate that no amount of planning could account for rotten luck.

He let out a heavy sigh. "So you know him?"

Kaito coughed. "Not well. I've spoken to him a few times in passing. But last time we talked, I sort of blasted him off the material plane. I haven't seen him since, though I've heard through the grapevine that he's been telling everyone who'll listen that I'm an unreasonable jerk."

"…You mean you fought him?"

"Er, no." Kaito looked shifty. "Let's just say he has a lousy sense of humor."

"So…you attacked him because he made a joke you didn't like."

"Something like that."

Shinichi couldn't help it. He had to ask. "What did he say?"

"You don't want to know." Kaito could see that Shinichi was still curious, but he changed the subject. He wasn't about to tell his detective that the other demon had originally come to chat with him out of the misguided notion that they were of a similar mind, albeit with different tastes. Kaito supposed his reaction may have been just a tiny bit over the top, especially considering the other demon probably thought he was being friendly, but that crack he'd made about Shinichi had been the last straw. Hearing someone talk about the love of his life like the detective was nothing more than some kind of—of sex toy had made his blood boil.

Besides, it wasn't like he'd done the other demon any lasting damage.

"So I guess now we know why Blondie thinks we're all con artists."

Shinichi sighed. "Yeah…"

"That doesn't make him any less of a prat."

"Kaito…"

"Hey, I'm just telling the truth. Having a reason doesn't excuse bad manners."

"That's true," Shinichi admitted. "But I don't think any of us are going to be changing each other's minds. We just need to accept that and move on."

Kaito made a noncommittal noise and changed the subject.

-0-

"We've been invited to a ball?"

"Yeah," Hattori said amiably, holding up the gold trimmed invitation. "It's for the whole department."

Shinichi blinked. "But…why?" It was certainly strange. Whoever heard of anyone going out of their way to invite a department of police to attend a ball? Personal invites from people who knew them, sure, but for the department? "Are they expecting trouble?"

"Don't think so. The host's some rich old guy. I think he's old buddies with some of the chiefs."

"Oh." That explained a lot, he supposed. "Is it mandatory that we go?"

The dark-skinned detective laughed at the hopeful note in Shinichi's voice. "Sorry ta disappoint ya, but it is. Ya can't skip out on this one unless ya want to offend a lot o' important people."

Shinichi bit back a sigh.

A heavy arm landed across his shoulders. "Oh come on, it should be fun," Kaito said. "It's not like we're all that busy right now."

"But the labs should have our results any time now. Those girls don't have much time left."

"They'll notify you when the results come in. Sitting around fretting won't make them work any faster."

"Kuroba's right about that," Hattori put in. "But, uh, the ball is invitation only…"

Indigo eyes narrowed. "Your point is?"

Hattori squirmed under the demon's stare. He knew that Kaito knew exactly what his point was. "It's just, well, it'd be kinda rude for us ta bring uninvited guests, ya know?"

Kaito knew, but, frankly, he didn't care. So it was that when Shinichi set out for the estate where the ball was going to be held the following evening, Kaito was right there with him. They ran into Hattori, Hakuba, and Sera on the way. The blond looked askance at the demon's presence but, for once, said nothing about it.

They didn't run into any problems until they reached the estate's main gates. The gates themselves had been opened wide for the occasion. Other guests were already making their way up the drive.

Kaito stopped abruptly just outside the gates.

Confused, Shinichi turned to look at him. "Kai?"

"There's a barrier here."

Shinichi frowned slightly. "I don't feel anything."

"It's directed at demons." Kaito looked up at the distant roof of the mansion just barely visible over the tops of the trees that surrounded the grounds. Such barriers were not uncommon around important public buildings and large estates. However, it was rare for any to be strong enough to warrant any attention from him. "It's very powerful. I can break it, but if I do, it's going to cause some serious fireworks."

"It is hardly a surprise," Hakuba muttered from where he was standing with Sera and Hattori a few steps away. He fell quiet when the dark-skinned detective elbowed him.

Shinichi pretended not to hear. "It might be better if you didn't break it," he said, looking down. "Do you mind waiting outside? I'll just go say hello and come back."

Kaito's gaze softened. "No, that's all right. You wouldn't want to be rude. Take your time."

Reluctant, Shinichi trailed after his colleagues. Kaito watched them go before he vanished, making several of the men and women passing by jump and exclaim in shock.

It didn't take Shinichi long to start wishing that Kaito had come with them. He'd never been very fond of big parties. They were boring and tiring with all the pointless small talk and shameless boasting. Large amounts of free food were not all that interesting to him, and he didn't particularly like to dance. Just about the only aspect of the party he enjoyed was the music. There was actually a small orchestra playing live on one of the largest balconies overlooking the ballroom.

Politely declining several invitations to dance, he picked up a cup of coffee and found a place at one of the small tables set up along one side of the dance floor.

"Pardon me for the intrusion, but would you happen to be the detective Kudo Shinichi?"

Shinichi looked around to find that a young man with dark, curly hair and rather narrow eyes had sat down on the other side of the table. "I am."

The stranger nodded, unsurprised. "My name is Kusanagi Takaharu. It's a pleasure to meet you. I do hope you are enjoying the ball."

So this was the son of their host, Shinichi thought. "Thank you. The orchestra is very skilled, and it's been a while since I've been able to attend a concert."

"I'm glad you approve." Takaharu paused to take a drink from his own glass of red wine before continuing. "Incidentally, I happen to be a practitioner of magic as well. I do a lot of research in the magical arts. Although I do not have the talent for summoning. My latest study, unfortunately, requires knowledge of demon magic that I do not have. I was hoping, therefore, to consult you on the matter. I understand that you are a wizard yourself?"

"I am," Shinichi said, surprised but pleased. This sounded interesting for a change. "I would be happy to share what I know if it'll help. What are you studying?"

"Spell diagrams," Takaharu replied. He glanced around then as though looking for eavesdroppers. "The particular diagram in question is an entirely new design. If you wouldn't mind stepping out to my workroom with me, I can show you what I have. Then perhaps you could show me how I might complete it."

Intrigued, Shinichi agreed.

Together, the two young men left the ballroom. They passed through several long, thickly carpeted halls and down several flights of stairs until they came to a pair of double doors carved from dark, polished wood. Shinichi was a little surprised. This place, wherever it was, was underground. It was an odd location to choose for a workroom since an accidental explosion would bring everything overhead down on top of you. Then again, maybe they were no longer directly under the mansion.

Inside, the room was quite spacious. The outer edges were a little cluttered though because all the furniture had been pushed to the sides of the room to make space for the spell diagram drawn on the floor in white chalk.

"I'm having trouble with that area over there," Takaharu explained, pointing to a stretch of blank floor on the far side of the circle. "Any advice you could give me would be very much appreciated."

Shinichi stepped gingerly over the sprawl of chalk lines to the bare patch in question. Behind him, he could hear the door clicking shut. With the exit closed off and no windows anywhere, the room felt smaller and darker than it was. He had a sudden feeling of unease. Glancing back over his shoulder, he saw Takaharu arranging the papers on his desk. Nothing odd there. Shaking off his unsettled feeling, Shinichi moved to stand on the blank patch and examine the diagram.

He wasn't an expert on spell diagrams. Such diagrams were used only to cast large and extremely complicated, long-lasting spells. As a detective, one rarely had the luxury of time you would need to draw up and employ such a diagram. Therefore, the only diagrams Shinichi was particularly familiar with were the ones that involved demons (it being necessary knowledge for a wizard). He could see where a summoning circle would fit into this diagram too, but the overall diagram was much more complex. The summoning was only a tiny part of it, and he couldn't help but wonder what the spell was for.

Kneeling on the wood floor, he made a show of examining the edges of the blank area and the openings left for incorporating the summoning circle while he scrutinized the rest of the diagram. The diagram was the most complex one he had ever seen. He marveled at the intricacy. Most of it was nonsensical to him. He did know a few runes, recognizing them to be from a very ancient language. He could have sworn it was a language that was no longer used in magical practice. But he supposed that wasn't strange for a scholar's research…?

Over there on the other side though, he thought he saw some patterns he understood. It was partially hidden by a splay of random papers.

He looked again at Takaharu. The man was now scribbling notes into an open notebook. Telling himself that it would be helpful to know more about the overall structure of the spell and therefore he would not be snooping, Shinichi crossed the diagram and carefully cleared away the papers.

He was right. This part of the diagram was composed of patterns that he knew even if he'd never seen them arranged together in such a way before. If he was reading it right then they meant that—

His breath caught in his throat. A chill swept through him.

"You know, you really shouldn't snoop."

Shinichi refused to jump even as his heart rate picked up at the sudden address. Instead, he rose slowly and turned to face Takaharu.

The man was still standing at his desk, but he was now facing Shinichi. In the dim light from the lamps attached to the corners of the room, his formerly friendly expression now took on a sinister cast.

"This spell," Shinichi said, tone level. "What does it do?"

"It's nothing you should be concerning yourself with," the man said lightly.

Shinichi's eyes narrowed. "This is forbidden magic." He pointed at the stretch of runes at his feet. "It calls for a blood sacrifice." An extremely large one at that.

"I promise you, this is merely for research. I have no intentions of using it."

"I see." Shinichi didn't believe him for a moment, but if Takaharu wanted to play dumb, that was his business. "I'm sorry, but I can't help you."

Takaharu's smile didn't waver. "And I'm sorry, but you don't have a choice. Not if you want to see your friends upstairs again anyway. So, why don't we get started?"


End file.
